Elijah wagoner



E WAGONER.

Seed-Drill Teeth.

Patented Nov. 27, 1866.

76' 275mm er:

4 Aff IMPROVEMENT IN GRAlN DRILLS.

ELIJAH WAGONER, 0F WESTMINSTER, MARYLAND. Letters Patent No. 60,096,dated November 27, 1866.

SPECIFICATION- TO ALL WHUM IT4 MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, ELIJAH WAGONER, of Westminster, in the county ofCarroll, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Grain Drill; and I do hereby declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the nature, construction', andoperation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,which make part of this specification, and'in whichi Figure 1 is a planview of my improved drill, and

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a transverse section of the same in the linexx.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the .threefigures.

My said invention consists in a novel and simple mode` ol combining alever, elastic attaching bars, and an India-rubber spring, with thedrill-tube, for the purpose of ladapting the latter to yield or givebackward to and override any immovable object with which it may come incontact, and resume its operating position when such object is passed.

The following description will enable others skilled intthe art to whichmy invention appertains to fully understand and use the same. 4

In the accompanying drawings, A may represent the metallic drill-tube,which conducts the seed from the seeding machine and forms the furrow ordrill into which the seed is deposited. llfhis drill-tube is'attached tothe seeding machinev by two crooked bars, B B, which are fastened to theseeding machine at their forward ends in any suitable manner. The rearends of the bars B B are connected together as well as pivoted to thelug a on drill A, by means of the bolt C, and nut C. al is a lugoccupying a higher position on the drill Athan lug a, and affording apoint of attachmentfor a two-part link, D D, which is attached to saidlug al by the bolt E and nut E. F is a lever, the rear end of which ispivoted atftothe link D D, and the opposite end of which is pivoted tothe forward ends of bars B B, by the pivot fl G is a rubber spring heldwithin a stirrup, H, and occupying a position between the latter and thelever F. The Vspring G may be of tubular or other p suitable form, andis of suicientstrength to brace up the pivotcd lever F, so as to adaptit to hold th'e drill iniits working position while moving through thesoil. The stirrup H is held upon the short stems or arms, t k, by nuts,L' i, and the arms are riveted to the bars B B. A washer, I, isinterposed between the spring G and lever F, and a crease, t', is formedin the washer for the lever F to rest in.l A stem or shank, z", isattached to or formed in one piece with 'the washer I, and projectsdownward through the centre of the spring G and stirrup at2 is ashoulder formed on the lug al; and owing to the infringement of acorresponding shoulder, d, on the link D, against shoulder a3, when thedrill is forced backward by an obstacle, theu link D cannot possiblyrise above the lug a, but must necessarily be depressed and force therear end of the lev'er F down with it. This depression of the bracinglever F permits the point of the drill A to turn backward in the are ofa circle, and

Y thus override any obstacles which it may meet. The depression of thelever F contracts the spring G, so that when the obstruction is passedthe lever F is elevated by the spring G, and the drill A thus made toresume its normal operating position. By referring to tig. 2 it will beperceived that a straight line drawn fromf to E would pass below thecentre of the pivotf, which connects the rear end of the lever F to theforward end of link D. This being the usual relative position of thejoints, or the position they occupy during the undisturbed operation ofthe drill,-it is manifest that inasmuch as vthe forward end of the linkD can only'beturned downward by the backward motion of the operating endof the drill A, the rear end of 'the lever F could not yield downward toundue strain applied to the drill without increasing the distancebetween the points f and E to an y extent equal to the distance betweenthe centre of pivot f and an imaginary straight line drawn from j" to E.I provide for this temporary increaseoi` distance between f and E, bymaking the bars `BB of zigzag, curved, crooked, or of any other suitableshape, so that they shall be elastic and capable of extension when.sufficient resistance is offered to the drill A to render its backwardand upward deectioirnccessary. Thus when the drill strikes an immovableobstacle the bars B B are elongated by the strain, and the distance fromC and E to f is increased sufficiently to permit the joint f to movedownward in the arc of a circle; hence the drillLA, then vibrates uponits pivbt C, and the lever F contracts the spring G, for the purpose ofrestoringthe drill and lever to their normal positions when theobstruction is passed. The bars B B will only elongate under unduestrain, and hence the drill is firmly held to its work and preventedfrom yielding or vibrating during its passage through the soil. Thepower of the spring G may be increased or diminished by adjusting thenuts h.

I do 4not wish to be understood as. claiming,` novelty in the employmentof the spring G, or lever F, or connecting link D, broadly considered,as I am aware that these parts have been in use long before the date ofmy application, and that they have been combined with a grain drill invarious ways.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim es newherein, und desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1*. I claim the combination of the drill A, elastic bars B B, lever F,spring G, and link D, substantialiy as vand for the purpose hereinspecified.

2. In combination with the above part, I claim the link D D, and lug al,when formed with the shoulders a, d, in the manner and for the purposeset forth.

3. I claim the stem or shank z", whenf'ormed as a part of the washer I,and employed in connection with the sp1-ing Gr, bars B B, and stirrup H,es described.

v ELIJAH WAGONER..

Witnesses.:

P. J. BARTnoLoW, CHAs. BILLINGSLEA.

